Counting Forever
by TheQueenInDisguise
Summary: AU A miserable young man, cursed to live an immortal life, finds himself falling for a bright young girl who doesn't have much left to live.
1. Chapter 1

Counting Forever

AU A miserable young man, cursed to live an immortal life, finds himself falling for a bright young girl who doesn't have much left to live.

DISCLAIMER: Bleach is still not mine... unfortunately.

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><p><em>Death has always been feared by most. Probably because they believe that there's so much to live for like their wealth or whatever they see as a contribution to their personal satisfaction which is perhaps why you've heard of people who go through numerous lengths just to uncover the secrets of living an eternal life or discovering the fountain of youth. <em>

_I, for one, have lived for more than two centuries now and let me tell you, it's not all that great. True, I've seen the birth of technology and I probably would still be around to witness its end but even after that, I'm pretty sure that I'll still be here more or less. Let me correct you now by saying that I am not one of those mythical creatures from fictional books, that teenagers read in this generation, no. I'm just a normal 25 year old guy whose physical self has not aged a day besides the fact that it's been in existence for so many years now. _

_And the reason for that? Nothing big. Just a measly curse. I tried to save a life and this is the price I paid. It seemed fair at that time but now the more that I think about it, the more I feel desperate to experience death. Don't get me wrong, I've tried. Suicide I mean. Painful? Yes. Effective? I'm still here though, so that answers that. _

"It's so good to finally meet you, doctor," the woman bowed. The said doctor merely nodded and proceeded to instruct her, the guardian, to leave the room. The woman, who seemed to be in her thirties, followed but whispered something to her petite companion about behaving properly and assuring that she'll be outside if they need her.

Ichigo, the doctor, paid no heed to the conversation and proceeded to read the file of his new patient on his desk...

Rukia Kuchiki. 21 years old. Date of birth... Place of birth... Illness...

He lightly raised his head to see her face. The girl left, Rukia, simply sat down with her eyes wandering the place as if fascinated by this room that he finds so dull and plain.

_I guess one of the few things that come when you've lived longer than most is that more and more things become insignificant to you._

Once done, her violet orbs landed on his brown ones and a soft smile graced her face. His eyebrows immediately creased.

_How could eyes like those be full of life, surely this must be the wrong person._

Being a shrink for so long has given him the ability to easily read people's actions, most especially what goes on in their heads. But then why does it feel like this girl is reading through his?

He broke their eye contact and looked through her files again.

Being obsessed with death himself, his patients are...

He read the words...

Rare chronic heart disease.

"So... how does this work? You and me," she asked with a slight tilt of her head. He sighed, not exactly quite sure why he did so but part of the reason was to remind himself that this girl was his patient which means...

She's dying.

"I've read through your file and so far—"

"I know, I won't last long because my heart won't allow me to. But you know, it bothers me more that I'm going to die a virgin, than the actual fact of me dying," she shrugged. There was silence for a brief moment as he examined this girl sitting in front him.

"You're pretty blunt," he ended up saying while he closed the folder containing her personal information and she smiled.

"Well doctor, when you're dying, like I am, you try to say as much as you can so that not much would be left unspoken." For some reason, his lips slightly formed a smile.

_Indeed, one of the few things that come when you've lived longer than most is that more and more things become insignificant. And yet, when you find something of importance, there is a high chance that your memory of that encounter would be as clear as day. Like..._

_Her eyes..._

_Her smile..._

_Her voice..._

_Her hair..._

_Every single detail will remain stored, ready to be relived even if the persona herself... is gone._

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><p>AN: I tried to write a drabble... it's so hard! Haha. Anyway, I've been watching a lot of series in the past few days and I decided to write this for my friend. I posted it here first before I actually give it to her. Let me know what you think. And by the way, I'm still alive. I'll try to update my other works after I get home from a loooong vacation out of the country. And I wrote this because I've been tumblr-ing for awhile now, stalking the ichiruki tag haha. Sorry not sorry. Thanks for reading. Hope you guys would review :"D


	2. Chapter 2

Counting Forever

AU A miserable young man, cursed to live an immortal life, finds himself falling for a bright young girl who doesn't have much left to live.

DISCLAIMER: Bleach is still not mine... unfortunately.

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><p>Elbows on her knees, head resting on her palms while she cupped her cheeks, Rukia squinted her eyes at the man sitting across her from behind the large wooden desk. "Mmm... Remind me again who among the two of us is the shrink?"<p>

"I'm the shrink," he answered matter-of-factly. "I've always been the shrink. Any time you think that we might've exchanged positions is all part of the procedure."

She sits up straight in defeat. "Ah... then I guess you must be really good then." She's been talking for as long as she could remember. He'd answer her with 'yes' or 'no' or an occasional nod, a few words, but then again, she seemed to find herself observing him instead. She even made a mental note that she'll bring a pen and paper next time to write down some comments.

She wished he'd tell her more. She loved hearing people's stories. And Dr. Kurosaki seem to look like he has a lot of stories. She wasn't much of a story teller herself but she loves to listen. It makes her forget that she's...

Dying?

No.

Running out of time. She corrected.

Hearing stories, real or not, makes her feel like she's living them in her head.

"Have you ever stolen something?" she asked out of the blue.

"I'm a shrink, not a thief," he corrected. Again, another bland answer from mister man-of-a-few-words.

Seriously? You're a doctor, shouldn't you know more? You can do better than that. She pouted.

"Well, I'd like to steal something one day. You know, just to feel badass."

This time, his eyebrow rose at the term she used. "Badass?"

"Like, you know, when you're doing something mischievous, it gives you that thrill of being alive." He nodded in understanding.

"Have... you ever done something like that?" She said still trying to hold on to that conversation.

"Yes, I have and it did give me the thrill of being alive... forever." Was what he wanted to say but instead he answered with a simple "No."

"Oh..." she said sounding a little disappointed. Well, there goes another interesting topic.

Her eyes wandered around the room trying to think of something else to talk about until she saw the time on the wall clock. "Oh, will you look at that. Time's up." She pointed out when she noticed that they were fifteen minutes past their scheduled time. She felt amazed at how long they've been talking, even though she did most of the talking, but still, she didn't even notice the time.

Man, this guy is good. She told herself as she glanced at him.

"Indeed." He answered monotonously as he began to return her files back in their rightful place in the drawers of the big wooden desk. Then he brought out his phone and began checking some mail.

Rukia stood up and glanced at the clock again, "Um..." she began a bit hesitant. "Would you... like to have dinner with me?"

The question definitely caught him off guard. This was their third session and he half expected that she'd just thank him then leave just like how she always does but...

But... then, there's that question. He simply glanced back at her then back at his phone.

It really was dinner time, but he couldn't possibly...

"Thank you but—"

"I-I know you're my shrink and all but you can't possibly be a shrink 24/7 and even if you are, I bet that shrinks eat dinner too," she reasoned with a smile, hoping she'd be able to convince him.

He smirked, "Miss Kuchiki—"

She sighed. She knew what that tone meant. "Okay, okay. I get it, but seriously when you feel like you're just _Ichigo_ call me, because unlike you, I can be just _Rukia_."

He didn't answer and just continued to focus on his phone. Thinking that that must've been the end of the conversation, she awkwardly approached the door. He didn't even seem like he was paying attention to her anymore. She sighed inwardly until her phone began to ring. She quickly took it out to check. It was an unknown number. She looked at him again but he was simply too preoccupied with whatever he was doing. She faced away then answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Saturday." She slightly gasped at the familiar tone and quickly turned to face the only other person in the room. He had his phone on his ear and was looking back at her.

"Okay, Saturday," she confirmed trying to stop a chuckle from coming out. "And... who am I talking to?"

He couldn't help but smirk at the question, "Ichigo."

"Oh? Dr. Kurosaki doesn't mind?"

"He does but _Ichigo_ does eat dinner during Saturdays."

She chuckles this time, "alright then."

The call ended. She thanks him before she leaves. Once she was out the door, he rubbed his temples in an attempt to snap himself back to reality.

What the heck did he do that for?

Why was he so fascinated with this girl? Fifteen minutes past their time? Seriously? All part of the procedure huh? He wanted to hit something.

How come she easily broke his walls down, just like that? He groaned.

_You know, when you're doing something mischievous, it gives you that thrill of being alive._

Thrill of being alive huh?

It's a bit ironic isn't it? Having to feel that thrill from someone who's dying, while you yourself have the rest of forever to live?

What a tragic reality that is. Indeed.

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><p>AN: You know the feeling when you have a lot of things to do but you ended up writing instead. Yeah, guess when that happened to me. Enjoy :D Expect this to be updated whenever I'm feeling lazy about doing my responsibilities.


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